When Our Eyes Met BOOK SERIES

CHAPTER 01: Veiled Origins

They say our eyes are not merely organs of sight, but also windows into our souls. They reflect our deepest desires and emotions, revealing the full spectrum of human experience: joy, sadness, longing, grief, anger, fear, and love.

It matters not the color or appearance of our eyes; they possess the ability to perceive light in the darkest of places, to discern truth amidst deceit, to distinguish reality from illusion, and to perceive the nuances within the shades of gray.

The power of eye contact is undeniable, capable of igniting romantic feelings between a man and a woman or fostering a deep fondness between friends.

However, I have always been cautious about meeting someone's gaze, especially after my mother's passing. I made a conscious decision to avoid connecting with others on such an intimate level. The brevity of human life is a heartbreaking yet rational reality that we must confront.

My name is Alsei Akahoshi, and I was born in a secluded village hidden from the outside world in the country of Avaloria. It was a place untouched by modernity, inhabited by a clan with fiery red hair, contrasting with my own jet-black hair with royal purple reflections.

From the moment of my conception, my life was marked by hardship. My grandfather, the clan head and my mother's father, refused to accept me, and the rest of the clan followed suit. I was constantly made to feel unwelcome and ostracized, with the exception of my mother, who loved and cared for me unconditionally. She was my reason for resilience and strength.

As I grew older, my mother took it upon herself to educate me, defying my grandfather's wishes. She imparted upon me all the knowledge and skills I would need for my future, and she urged me to leave the village if ever something terrible were to happen.

Tragically, when I was twelve years old, my mother passed away under mysterious circumstances, or at least that's what my grandfather callously informed me. I was the sole attendee at her funeral, as my grandfather and the rest of the clan showed no remorse or concern. To this day, the cause of her death remains unknown to me.

The mistreatment from my clan only intensified after losing my mother. They treated me with even greater disdain than before, compounding my feelings of isolation and rejection.

The dual blow of losing my mother and being shunned by my own clan transformed me into a distant and introverted teenager, wearing a mask of emotional detachment and harboring a piercing gaze.

At the age of thirteen, I made the decision to leave my homeland, carrying with me the money and inheritance my mother had left behind. After three days of travel, I arrived in a small city far from the familiarity of my past. I swiftly rented an apartment, organized my belongings, and enrolled in university.

Despite my young age, I was admitted to college based on my exceptional intelligence. They claimed my IQ to be around 230, prompting them to recommend that I skip high school. While I possessed this intellectual gift, it did little to bring me joy.

Throughout my university years, I remained an outsider, unable to form any meaningful connections. No one dared to approach me or even share a meal with me during lunch breaks. The same sense of alienation that plagued me in my village had resurfaced, proving that physical distance alone could not erase these feelings or memories.

Years passed, and I continued to wear a mask of emotional detachment, my face displaying an expressionless facade. The pain, sadness, and loneliness I carried within me persisted, along with countless unanswered questions.

After graduating, I relocated to the bustling metropolis, where I initially worked as an assistant at a local business branch. It was not until my twenty-first birthday that my life took an unexpected turn.

Little did I know that the reflections in my eyes, the swirling emotions that had consumed me for years, and the trajectory of my life would be forever altered from that point onward.